THE proposed new penalties for cynical fouling in football and hurling could conceivably get their first airing this year’s championship without a trial beforehand.
The GAA are also likely to make a decision on the proposed new championship format at a Special Congress later this year, even if it cannot be held in person.
The association’s Annual Congress will take place on the last weekend of this month, but plans are in place for a second meeting later in the year.
While the delegates will have 47 motions to mull over in total, ten of them will not be discussed at all next weekend. They have been deferred to the Special Congress, a date for which has not yet been set.
The GAA are aiming for it to take place in the autumn with the intention of implementing any decisions made in time for the 2022 season.
Annual Congress next weekend is set to debate and vote on proposed rule changes, one of which would see any player guilty of a ‘cynical’ foul inside the 20-metre line or ‘D’ sin-binned for 10 minutes and a penalty will be awarded.
While the GAA are still hoping that the new rules would first come into effect in the truncated Allianz Leagues, it depends on whether there is time in the calendar to play them.
Games will not return without some form of lead-in time, with the likelihood that inter-county teams will be given a month to prepare, but whether there are any competitive games pre-championship is the issue.
If the motion is passed, the new rules would be implemented on a trial basis in this year’s championships, regardless of whether the leagues happen.
A vote will also be held on whether to ban the Maor Foirne from entering the playing area at any time.
The role has caused growing controversy in recent years, with Dublin hurling coach Greg Kennedy banned for four weeks after he caught the ball in open play while on the field.
Several other incidents had drawn attention to the role, while the likes of Jason Sherlock were accused in some quarters of indirectly interfering with the game by taking up certain positions on the field at restarts.
Speaking last October, the now-departed Dublin coach who operated under Jim Gavin’s regime said that he could “absolutely see why [the role] has been challenged”.
“I can only say from my point of view, do I think did it add value to a team's performance? You probably have to ask the players. If that doesn't fit into the optics of it, then the GAA have to make a call on that,” he said.
The proposal would mean only a doctor or medical professional would be allowed on to the field, at the referee’s discretion.
A motion is also being put forward that would write into rule end dates for the All-Ireland post-primary school competitions, as well as the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cups.
The post-primary All-Irelands would need to be completed by March 17, meaning that Ulster Colleges’ traditional St Patrick’s Day showpiece for the MacRory Cup will be at an end.
A wish to tidy up how the presentation of trophies appear is the rationale behind the motion to outlaw the practice of having joint-captains, with teams set to be able to nominate just one person to lift any silverware.
The nuts and bolts of how the online Congress will work are still being put together.
Ordinarily in recent years members have done their voting in Croke Park’s conference centre by way of an electronic voting pad distributed to each candidate.
The GAA are finalising exactly how remote voting on the online call will work but having examined various systems, it is a matter of making the final decision.
A final number of participants has also to be confirmed. With around 300 people usually involved in a traditional Congress, retaining those numbers for an online call seems unfeasible.
It is likely that the counties, who are often mandated by clubs on how to vote on particular motions, will work off reduced voting numbers.
One of the largest voting blocs is the overseas units, but one of the motions next weekend is set to reduce their voting numbers if passed.
